hdx online

Few considerations: Naim is going to release their music collection this summer(purchase +/- subscription). It makes perfect sense to have NS/HDx on the market for those who've want to buy music and have it stored on their Naim server system for the best quality playback through the Naim system. Remember there are two issues: the file and the stream and I'm sure that the above process, clean, and buffer the file before streaming very well that is why the audio quality is improved. If you play through your NAS or PC to your system you are losing quality because of the lack of really cleaning up your file before streaming the music. Naim also should want to sell that music to the rest of us who don't/can't purchase the more expensive products since they want to sell Naim and Naim music--capitalism so it would make sense that there will be something on the horizon from Naim to attract the rest of us so an external box would make sense otherwise why purchase Naim high quality downloads when you are not able to play back as high a quality through your system if it is ethernet or USB to your system. Thus an external DAC makes sense. Remains to be seen if it will be USB and/or Ethernet connected. Will it also have a high quality AD converter-- vinyl into you NS/HDX!!

Cont: So if the external device is released don't expect it to be inexpensive, but hopefully "reasonably priced" whatever that is so the rest of us run out to buy the product. Also will Naim release as a download their software music management product as a stand alone to your PC/NAS if you do not have the NS/HDx so you can now manage your music with a Naim product as well.

Dear Gary1,

I disagree that buying music from Naim would make any difference to me in deciding on the HDX, even though I suspect that the Naim recordings will be top flight.

The recordings I use are in a range from the newest ones [in very small numbers], going right back to important musical issues from as early as 1913.

On the other hand, that the CD ripping process used may well be a route to greater accuracy than has proved possible in most cases from direct streaming from off a CD in a conventional CD player, is an advantage, but not necessarily the clincher. The clincher for me is access to the whole library of music without having to have shelves of CDs in the listening space. The sonic advantages are simply a bonus. Thus I would prefer to listen to a good mono recording from the 1950's or even the 1930s, of some truly great music reading, to a less acute music reading in a contemporary state of the art recording. Of course where the best musical performance is available in the "state of the art" sonics, then I shall welcome this advance, but it is not the main motivation, for me.

It seems to me that the HDX is part of an ongoing process of optimising playback from any recordings, and not just the most "state of the art."

George

GFFJ: I think you misunderstood my post. I was not stating that the release of the Naim music catalogue would be the motivation in buying the HDX. What I said was that Naim has a motivation of releasing the HDX/NS products before release of the catalogue from their POV, not ours.
I agree I want acess to my music the same as you without seeing shelves od CD's and to have the best quality playback through my system. From what I've heard from some sound experts that the ripping process is key to the ultimate result.

Dear Gary1,

It would be a surprise indeed, if Naim did not make the effort to optimise replay of their state of the art recordings via their HDX. I thought that a company like Naim was all about improving replay, and to somehow criticise them for this appears to be a criticism of their reason for being!

Poor old Naim ...

George

GFFJ: Again misreading the post. No one is criticizing anybody. All I said was that I thought it smart for Naim to have the players on the market prior to release of the collection!!!

Then I suspect that we are in complete agreement. George